Andri Snær Magnason and Wolfgang Lucht | 04.11.2014
Andri Snær Magnason
Andri Snær Magnason is one of the most versatile and well-known Icelandic authors. Following several volumes of poetry and short stories as well as children’s books, in 2002 he published his dystopic science fiction novel LoveStar, which has received several awards. In 2009 he co-directed the film based on his bestseller Dreamland, a mixture of investigative journalism as well as playful anecdotes and allegories, which critically turns against the destruction of Iceland’s nature in favour of the international aluminium industry. The film has successfully been screened at international film festivals. His most recent book, Tímakistan, has been awarded with the Icelandic Literary Prize, amongst others. Moreover, in 2010 Magnason received the KAIROS prize, the European cultural award granted by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation.
Wolfgang Lucht leads the Department of Earth System Analysis at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and holds the Alexander von Humboldt Chair in Sustainability Science at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Originally trained in and with a doctorate in physics, Lucht worked for NASA in the USA for several years on projects of earth observation, before joining the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research. His work addresses the dynamics of the earth system, the co-evolution of the environment and human societies, the future of the biosphere and the concept of planetary boundaries. He has been a contributing author to the 4th and 5th Assessment Reports of the World Climate Council and lead author on its Special Report on Renewable Energies. Lucht is member of the German Committee for Future Earth of the DFG, the Program Committee Remote Sensing of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Governing Council of the Centre for Excellence on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems at Humboldt University in Berlin. He is the author or co-author of over 100 academic publications.